Chilled Drink of the Week: Black Ice

I had quite a lot of fun coming up with a cocktail that best represents and showcases Mamont Vodka. It has some great qualities and its dryness and earthiness were a perfect canvas to build something savory. Those kinds of cocktails I think work wonderfully with it. So, I took my inspiration from my favorite savory dishes most commonly having some sort of spiciness. For example, I love a steak with peppercorn sauce and I’ll eat just about anything with balsamic vinegar on it.

The primary ingredients of my “Black Ice” provide spicy, sweet, sour, herbal and savory elements all balanced and softening each other. The drink became more exciting and dynamic as I continued preparing it and the result was a unique liquid meal in a glass. Yes, it is a bit labor-intensive but the final product is a great and exciting reward.

“Black Ice”

Photo Credit Zack Berger

Black Ice

By Zack Berger

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz. Mamont Vodka

3/4 oz. Cinnamon Demerara Syrup*

3/4 oz. Creole Shrubb

1/2 oz. Lemon Juice

1/4 oz. Amer Picon

1/4 oz. Balsamic Vinegar Reduction**

4 dashes Peppercorn Tincture***

1 Egg White

Smoke Glass with Flaming Green Chartreuse and Cinnamon Stick

Garnish: Burnt Cinnamon Stick

Preparation:Once everything is set, combine all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Once the tin becomes cold, assume the cocktail is well chilled and strain the ice and dry shake. This allows the egg whites to froth. Once done shaking, dip a cinnamon stick into 1/2 oz. of Green Chartreuse and light it up. Allow it to char slightly while holding a coupe glass over the burning cinnamon and chartreuse. This will let the glass take on a warm cinnamon and herbal quality. Once it’s properly smoked, fine strain the cocktail and garnish with the Burnt Cinnamon Stick on the rim.

*Cinnamon Demerara Syrup

This is made as any other flavored syrup. Take equal parts Demerara sugar and water and cook it down with a cup of grated cinnamon. Once the syrup has come together strain out the grated cinnamon to separate.

**Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

This is made with balsamic vinegar, and simple syrup cooked down and heated for about 15 minutes at medium temperature.

***Peppercorn Tincture

This is made with ground green and black peppercorns infused into over-proof rum. The immediate effect is spicy and strong. Allow it to sit for 24 hrs for the pepper to fully infuse making the tincture spicier.

Meet Zack Berger

CHILLED 100 Member, New York

Zack Berger moved to New York to pursue a career in the performing arts but found out very quickly that his focus and passion were centered around the hospitality realm. He is the Head Bartender at Analogue, a high-end cocktail and whiskey bar in Greenwich Village. His focus has been to cultivate a cocktail program and list that is inviting and fun without being too serious. He is constantly in search of the next important thing in food and beverage. He loves charcuterie with all the fixings and his favorite meal is chicken liver paté with a Negroni.